


Eternal Links

by Varisii



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: An Idea I couldn't get out of my head, Dragon Ball FighterZ - Freeform, Dragon Ball FighterZ Epilogue Story, Dragon Ball FighterZ Story, Might Lead into a Full Story, Player is a Character, Sad, what if
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-25
Packaged: 2019-03-15 06:49:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,424
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13607871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Varisii/pseuds/Varisii
Summary: The Earth had just been saved from the rampage of Android 21 and it was time to say goodbye to Son Goku and all of your new friends. But you could never tell them what saying goodbye really meant for you, but luckily, some bonds can never be broken.





	1. You're Back

**Author's Note:**

> I have been playing Dragon Ball FighterZ religiously since the game came out and the Story mode really caught my interest. While playing through it, an idea popped into my head regarding why that specific human's soul was able to link with the Dragon Ball characters. The game is set up to make the player feel involved with the story, but I couldn't get the idea of this concept out of my head, so I wrote this.

You felt a pang of sadness reach your heart as you heard the words reach you. 

"I wanted to thank you so much for fighting with us! You're the best!"

The happy-go-lucky Saiyan was grinning from ear to ear in his normal optimistic fashion, encouraging you as he always did.

"Next time we met, ... that is if you're up for it, we should have ourselves a friendly spar!"

You doubted that would be possible, but tried to keep a light attitude, you hadn't told them, and you couldn't ruin the mood everyone was in now, they were all smiling at you, giving you a fond farewell.

"Anyway, see ya!"

Goku gives you one last thumbs up and you feel yourself being torn away as you return to your body, but you feel yourself starting to tear up, although they can never know why...

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

You feel darkness surround you and a warm feeling starts to encompass your form, and then...stillness. Your senses start to return, and you try to open your eyes.....but you can't. You listen as you hear the familiar noises enter your senses. The soft whirring of machinery, the beeping of a heart monitor, and the pressing of a pump. All these noises were increasingly familiar, and that's when you realized....you were back. Inside your own body.

"Doctor, come quickly! The sensors have indicated that normal brain activity has resumed!"

You hear a familiar voice as the nurse that always checked your bedside started to speak. You didn't know what she looked like, but her voice was soft and familiar to your ears, it had always been one of comfort, even though she never knew if you could hear her.

You hear the rushing of footsteps and soft clacking of soles of shoes on a hard tile floor and feel cold hands along my torso as a cold metal instrument is pressed against my chest. Your eyes are blinded by light as the Doctor lifts one of your eyes and shines a flashlight on them, but your pupils don't dilate, like normal. The blinding light subsides as soon as it appears and you are left to adjust as you hear more clattering of business shoes around your bed. 

"It seems like the absence of brain activity might have been only temporary. Although I cannot tell if that's a good thing or not. Poor patient, they have been comatose as long as I have been working here. Who knows if they are even alive still if this is even what you could call living."

You hear the doctor sigh and press his hand to his forehead as he exhales.

"Well, as a doctor, I cannot prescribe anything but continued continual use of the machinery that they are already hooked up to. They appear to have stabilized for now. Check them periodically and let me know if there are any changes."

You hear him walk away and feel your head lifted as the nurse moves it to more comfortably rest upon your pillow. She would never know, but you always appreciated this from her, she always made the extra effort even though you could never respond. You hear her heels clack upon the floor as she left the room again, and you were left with the normal silence of the machines.  
  
Your mind started to wander, as it always did. Was what you just experienced real? Goku, Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Majin Buu, Gohan, the Mighty Gotenks.....was all of that even real? Frieza, his minions, and even Cell, you feel a cold shiver crawl down your body as you recall the names of the cold and merciless villains. And then....the callous twins 17 and 18, the poor martyr Android 16...and....21....poor 21. A tear escaped your eye and slid down your cheek, but there was no one there to witness it.  
  
It felt like a cruel dream, a dream where you got to fight, to fly, to experience things no human possibly could, and to be cut off and brought back down to this body....this cruel useless body. Was this another of life's cruel jokes? To give you a dream where you were finally in control of not one, but several many different bodies where their souls were trapped inside, unable to escape, unable to move....just like you. 

You pondered the cruelty of this dream for a while, the meaning of it all, what it could possibly have meant or what even your mind was trying to tell you, but you felt your mind start to wander again, and your thoughts became juggled. You felt sleep start to take you, and decided the best course of action would be to rest, maybe things would become clearer in the morning.


	2. Krillin and Android 18

You hear the sound of a door opening across from your bed, and soft footsteps along the clean tile. A soft gasping and worried whispers reach your ears. You assume that there was a patient in the same room as yours, nobody ever came to visit you...there was nobody to visit. But you heard the footsteps become closer and finally, a familiar voice rang out.

"This can't be real."

Your mind whirled as it tried to piece everything together. That sounded like...like Krillin. Was your mind playing tricks on you? Were you dreaming again? Your mind was whirring, trying to process what was currently happening, and then you heard it again, plain as day.

"This isn't fair. They helped save the world...everything we said to them, did...did they know they would be coming back to this?"

You could hear the anger, grief, and sadness pouring into his voice. The Earthling that had considered you a friend, that had asked you to meet his daughter, the one who I had fought alongside you. He was sad....for you.  
"It does seem a tad cruel, doesn't it? For them to have fought in our bodies and then returned to their own in this condition..."

The next voice was another familiar to you, it was Android 18. She and Krillin were married, so it didn't surprise you that they were together, what surprised you more than anything was that they were, in fact, real and not some fantasy created in your head. Her voice was calm and collected as per the normal, but you could hear a crack of sadness at the end of her sentences as if she was struggling to keep it under wraps.

"18...what can we do? I knew that I sensed them, and I thought maybe they were in the hospital because their body probably collapsed or something when all that weird linking business went on...but the doctors, they say they have been here as long as anyone can remember...nobody even knows their real name."

Everything you heard them say was all factual. Even you didn't know how long you had been here, and you had no real memories to speak of. The first thing you could remember was trying to move, to blink, to yell, to scream....but nothing ever came... Eventually, you learned from passing conversations that you were in the hospital, and that you had been found comatose. Nobody knew who you were, or where you came from, and nobody ever claimed you, or ever came to visit. You were just...a nobody, and you remained that way for what felt like ages, but you were still alive according to the doctors, so they had no reason to ever pull the plug. Nobody could even authorize it anyway.   
"Well, from what the doctors said, we can't do much. They said that they have been like this for a long time, and the only time anything has changed was within the last few days...which would make sense considering what happened. And you did say their energy is exactly that same as you remember, but it doesn't seem there is much we can do. It's just the truth."

You heard a sigh from Krillin and the shuffling of feet against the floor as from what you could tell, they seemed to have sat down in chairs near the bed. Next was the sound of much smaller footsteps, ones that landed softly on the hard ground, and then, you felt the poke of a small finger.

"Mommy, is the nice person asleep?"

The voice was a young girl, and it immediately snapped into your mind. The daughter that Krillin had mentioned, his pride and joy as a father, Marron. They must have brought Marron to meet you, hoping to surprise you with a visit, only to find you like this. You could hear them, but they would never know that after all it wasn't like you could respond. I heard 18's voice next, but it was a lot softer and more gentle than you had ever heard her before.  
"Marron honey, don't poke them, that's very rude."

You felt a small warm hand place itself on top of yours and could feel it carefully trace itself across the top of your skin until it placed itself under yours like a curious child would. The simple gesture comforted you, the child was doing nothing more than being a kid, but it was a simple gesture that brought warmth to your soul. You heard Krillin speak next.

"Wait! Why don't we just give them a Senzu bean! That would work right?!"  
His voice was bombastic and enthusiastic, filled with the promise of hope. You could barely remember what he spoke of, but your memory had taught you that they were a magical food of some kind, ones that healed all injuries and restored stamina to the fighters Krillin gave them to. I was able to feel their effects during the fights. 18's voice broke the silence that Krillin had left hanging in the air.  
"I don't think that would work. Remember what you told me about what happened when you gave Goku a Senzu bean when he was suffering from his heart disease when you were fighting Dr.Gero and Android 19? It only made his disease that much worse. If we give them a Senzu bean, it could possibly only make their condition even worse, or possibly even kill them. I don't think that it will be that simple a fix."

You felt my hope shatter as soon as it was placed in your mind, but heard Krillin speak up again with an urgency as if he didn't want to give up hope on this possibility.

"Well, even if that's true, we have to try something! We can't just leave them like this!"

You heard Krillin start to tap his foot and he spoke up once again.

"I got it! We just have to gather the Dragon Balls! I'm sure Shenron will be able to heal them!"

The Dragon Balls were something that hadn't been discussed much when you were in their group except for a few times, but from what you had understood, they were magical wish-granting orbs that gave those who gathered them any wish they could desire. They could even be used to revive the dead, so you were left to assume that they could do almost anything. A new hope flowered in your heart, and you felt it start bursting forth from your very soul. You heard a heavier tapping as if another in the room was considering the possibility.

"I suppose that would work, but we should have Bulma and the others make a final assessment before we use the Dragon Balls. There is a possibility she could help even without their aid. I mean, she is one of the richest people alive after all."

You heard Krillin deflate a bit and rub the back of his head.

"Yeah, I suppose you're right. I just feel really bad leaving them like this for another second you know? They helped us save the world so at the very least they deserve to be able to do what we had all promised them they could."  
You felt a small hand squeeze yours just a tad tighter as the two adults conversed. It must have been Marron. You fought and strained for every bit of energy you could muster as if you were fighting against iron bonds. You felt the nerves in your arm start to strain and will themselves to move and you felt your hand, for the first time ever, give a small, reassuring squeeze in return. What met your ears next was a delighted squeal, and you heard the laughter of the little girl.

"Mommy! Mommy! The nice person squeezed my hand back!"

You could hear the two almost whip their heads over in your direction, and then the both of them started to laugh.

"So buddy, even like this, you can make my daughter laugh? You are unbelievable. Don't worry, we will get you out of there, you better believe it!"

18 was the next speaker, and you could hear the smile that had spread across her lips as she spoke.

"Anyone who makes Marron happy deserves to be compensated, so don't worry, I'm sure we will."

The three spoke to you for a while, telling you various stories, about how 18 and Krillin had met, their marriage, and various stories about Marron of course. Before the end of it, you felt my soul emanate with a warmth you had never felt before. 

After what had felt like hours, you heard the three get up and say their goodbyes and the door closed silently, leaving you in the same silence and beeping of the machines that had always accompanied you...but my body felt so much lighter as if you were already learning how to fly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I felt like the player character's bond with Android 18 was extremely important to the story, just under the character's relationship with Android 21. That's why I decided to have Android 18 and Krillin be the first to interact as well as Marron, of course, their interaction with you in the Link System are some of the better snippets of dialogue.


	3. Vegeta, Trunks, and Bulma

It was morning, at least from what you could tell anyway. You could hear the birds chirping outside your window, and the television had told you that it was just a few minutes after 10 o clock. Your mind was calm and serene, as if you had been meditating for a long while, and you felt the soft glow of hope in my soul. 

Suddenly, there was commotion outside the door to your room and you heard the doctor that had checked on you only a little while earlier muttering apologies in a loud voice. "Of course Ms.Bulma, we will let you see the patient right away! I'm so sorry for the wait, we owe Capsule Corporation a great deal after all! I apologize that you had to wait so long!"

You heard more shuffling as the door was hurriedly opened and you could detect the pattering of another set of three sets of feet. One appeared to be wearing boots of some kind, another heels, and another squeaked in what appeared to be smaller sized sneakers. They walked into the room and across from where your body laid and stood there for a while. You heard one of them pick up the chart and look over it like the doctor's often did, but it was a child's voice that finally broke the silence.

"Uh...so, is he dead?"

As soon as those words were uttered you heard a hard slap hit someone upside the head and the same voice started complaining.

"Owwwww! Mom?! What was that for?!"

What broke the silence next was another familiar voice to you, although it was not one from a person that you had remembered having control of. It was an anger that you remembered funnily enough though.

"Trunks! That was just rude! For all we know, they can hear you, and that's not the first thing you should say anyway!"

You heard the child rub their head and mumble.

"Sorry...."

It came to your attention that the voice was actually familiar, and the name certainly stuck out to you as well....Trunks...Trunks.....oh! The child fusion, Gotenks! One of the kids that had fused to become them was a child named Trunks, and from what you remembered Trunks was the son of Vegeta and Bulma. So the woman that just spoke definitely was Bulma, and the child was Trunks, which meant that the third person was....  
"Trunks! Stop upsetting your mother."

You could hear the stern and scowling voice of Vegeta speak out next. He appeared to be speaking from the back of room however, as if he wouldn't be caught dead standing in the room, which was pretty normal considering his normal temperment.  
"Okay Dad...."  
Trunks stood quietly and fiddled with his hands as Bulma flipped through the pages of the chart. She sighed and finally said.

"Well, even though this isn't my field of specialty as I'm not exactly a medical professional, I can say that maybe even with alien technology, I have no idea how to fix this problem. I mean, it seems that the doctors are stumped as well, and it seems like some of the best doctors in their field are working at this hospital. There are notes here for some of the top doctors in the world, but even with their expertise, there wasn't much they could do about this. I suppose I could ask my father to consult on this, but even then, that might be a questionable course of action since it might not be a simple solution. I feel like maybe the easiest solution would be to gather the Dragon Balls."  
The next thing you could hear is the chart being placed back at the foot of the bed. The heels clack on the tile as she walks around to the side of the bed and stands there, tapping her foot. Trunks is the next to speak.

"This isn't cool....now Goten and I can't think up a cool move with them or anything....Goten was really looking forward to it too."

You hear the scuffing of some sneakers along the ground. It seems like Trunks was actually looking forward to the opportunity as well but was playing it off. Vegeta was the next to speak, and his gruff and rough voice rang out of the corner.

"Tch, what a waste, a fighter with such elite potential and promise reduced to nothing but lying in a bed."

Even though Vegeta's words were harsh, you could feel the disappointment and sadness emanate from his corner of the room.  
"Well, I do agree that this is a shame, after all, they did help save the Earth with every one of you, and you all seemed to have grown very attached to them, even you Vegeta." 

Bulma speaks factually, but with her words, you could hear grumbling and growling coming from Vegeta's corner of the room, as if Bulma had hit her assessement a little too much on the head.  
"Well, we could gather the Dragon Balls, at the very least they deserve that. I feel like we should get Goku and the others updated on the situation however. Then we can decide what the best way to handle this is."

The family is silent for a while, and no one says anything further. Finally, you hear the careful pacing of footsteps leave the corner and open the door.

"Fine, the less time we wait the better."

Vegeta exits the room with Trunks on his tail, and Bulma speaks quietly.

"Don't worry, we will rescue you."  
  
There is another stretch of silence before the door is quietly shut behind her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Vegeta's family is not especially known for their emotional impact, but I felt it was important to have Bulma involved in some capacity and of course that would allow for Vegeta to be his tsundere self and Trunks to sort of mimic his father to a degree. Vegeta's support of you is very indirect even to the end, and Trunks is enthusiastic as Gotenks, but likely wouldn't express that in front of his father very much.


	4. Tien and Yamcha

The morning turned into afternoon. You heard the birds stop chirping as often and the nurses changed. From what you could tell, it was the mid-afternoon now, and you could smell the food for various patients waft in from the other rooms. The nurse had already changed the IV nutrition from this morning and you were listening to the various passerby out for their lunch breaks conversing and talking. It seemed to be a relaxing afternoon.

  
The door opened once again with a silent clatter and you heard a single set of footprints enter the room, but what surprised you was that you could hear two voices ring out.

"Tien, this is the person that helped you and the others save the planet?"

"Yes, that's what Krillin told me Chiaotzu. It's unfortunate, so many of us gave them pointers and recommendations to follow the path of the martial artist, but now, that feels almost like a cruel joke on our part. They must have no spoken up to spare us from the discouraging facts, which means they have a stronger soul than we gave them credit for. They fought valiantly with us and forged friendships and bonds with us, even though they probably thought it would never result in anything but heartbreak for them. We have to be sure not to have made it all in vain."

  
Tien's sure and disciplined voice spoke out along with his childlike companion. Both of them must have been told by Krillin what state you were in and had come to see you as well. The human martial artist was not the strongest of the companions you got to bond with, but he definitely was one of the most disciplined. He had given you many valuable lessons and insight into the life of a martial artist and even though you thought you would never use it, you valued his insight. You listened for further words from both of them but they were quiet for quite a while, you weren't sure what they were doing until you heard Chiaotzu's voice once again.

  
"So Tien, are they going to be okay?"

  
Tien seemed to be quiet once again for a while with that remark but he finally answered.

  
"I can't know for sure Chiaotzu, and even though we can't do much ourselves, I'm sure Goku and the others won't let them down. All we can do is offer them our support."

  
There was another period of silence that stretched for a long time. You knew that Tien was most likely meditating, he was a really good martial artist, but he wasn't the best at social interaction. Despite that, you appreciated his company, as quiet as it was. The silence was soon broken, however, with a large amount of crashing coming from outside the room. You could hear a man apologizing over and over again for his clumsiness and the door opened for a very apologetic and bumbling guy.

  
"Oh! Tien! You're here too huh? I thought I would just uh pop in to see our buddy uh...but I guess I rushed a little too fast to get here huh?"

You hear him chuckle and rub the back of his head embarrassingly, but Tien doesn't say anything. His steps become lighter as he enters the room, and from what you could hear he stops right next to your bed. Another silence stretches for quite a while until you hear Yamcha finally speak again.

  
"It's really humbling you know?..."  
"I complained about all that stuff with them, about my unsatisfaction with being so weak a martial artist despite not training, not being married, and even about getting my ass handed to me and dying. But all of that seems so trivial compared to this. I feel kind of bad honestly. Even when I died I still got to train with King Kai...but like, I can't imagine being trapped in your own body like we were...but all the time. This sounds kind of silly, but do you think that's why they were the only one able to link with us?"

  
You hear Yamcha ask the question to no-one in particular, but Tien answers it almost immediately.

"That's quite an interesting thought. It might be why their soul was so adept at handling the linking business. Maybe their soul was particularly adjusted to handling the linking system and that's why they kept it going for as long as it did. But there is no way to know for sure unless perhaps we asked someone like Bulma. There does seem to be a link between the technology and their strong spirit, however."  
Yamcha chuckles and you hear him rubbing his head again.

"So Tien, how have you and Chiaotzu been lately? I know we haven't caught up in quite a while and we didn't really get the chance to this linking business."  
You hear Tien chuckle himself and his voice seems to infer that his face has stretched itself into a small smile.

"I have been good Yamcha even considering the circumstances, and it has been quite a while since we have seen each other last, unfortunately, it had to be due to such serious circumstances."  
Yamcha seems to tap his foot and you can hear him shift on his heel to face his friend.

"Yeah, it kind of sucks that we had to meet up this way, but I'm sure that everything will work out! I'm positive Goku and the others will figure things out!"

Tien and Chiaotzu seem to chuckle at that and Yamcha then ask with a confused voice.

  
"Hey, what's so funny guys?"

Tien stops laughing but you hear a little chuckling still in his voice.

  
"I happened to say the same thing to Chiaotzu when we got here. Look at us, even now, relying on Goku and the rest of the guys to solve everything. I wish it didn't have to be so, but that often turns out to be the case. We will just need to do our part as well, and wait to greet our friend properly next time."

  
Tien and Yamcha laugh and you hear them shake hands.  
  
"Yeah, just like the old days, huh Tien? Well, I gotta jet, but I'm sure we will see each other again."  
  
You hear him turn around once again.  
  
"And don't worry buddy, we will see each other again soon, count on it okay?"  
  
Yamcha stays for a little longer before leaving and silence takes over the quiet hospital room once again. I hear nothing but silence for a while but still sense Chiaotzu and Tien's silent presence in the room. After a good five minutes, the silence is finally broken once again.

"Chiaotzu, come along, let's go. We will see our friend again once we can have a proper conversation with them. I doubt our friends will let them rest for much longer with how loud and energetic they all are."

You hear Tien's quiet footsteps along the tile flooring as he exits and room and silently shuts the door behind him along with his close friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tien and Yamcha are an interesting pair to write. Tien is straightfaced and serious, while Yamcha is more of a jokester and silly. I think how they play off each other is interesting, and that they aren't given enough credit. I find it a crime that Krillin is considered the strongest human even though Tien is the one that constantly keeps up with training and making himself better though. Yamcha is also a fun character that is hardly ever used except for the punchline of a joke as well. The underuse of the human characters will be addressed in a future work I am working on though.


	5. Piccolo and Gohan

The room stays quiet for quite a while. The bustle of the outside world slowed down and I could only assume that it was nearing the end of the day. The sound of cars coming and going became less and less consistent and the hurried sound of people coming and going slowed to a crawl. You could only assume that it was close to night and that a majority of the people and hospital staff had taken their leave to prepare for the evening rotation.

  
You sat there for a while and briefly consider trying to fall asleep, but your thoughts are too excited from all the company you happened to have received today. Weeks and weeks of still silence with your only company being the doctors and nurses who came to regularly care for you, and now today, you had more visitors than in all the other days combined. You felt for the first time, the prospect of hope.  
You heard the door open once again and assume it's probably one of the nurses coming to check on you once again, but there are more footsteps than you were expecting. Along the tiles, there are 3 distinct sets of footprints although these seem to be much different than before when Vegeta and his family stopped by. Their steps seemed to be lighter, at least from what you could tell, and they filed into the room silently for a while. You tried to strain to hear them, not sure who the group of new visitors was. A new, but not unfamiliar voice finally broke the uneasy silence.

  
"Well Piccolo, Bulma wasn't joking, they don't seem to be in a good condition at all. I hope she and Dad can find the Dragon Balls quickly so that we can help them."

The voice belonged to Gohan, Goku's son, a half saiyan that differed greatly from his father in many aspects. One being his devotion to intellectual studies and knowledge rather than that of martial arts, but another being just how much he loved and worried over his family. Not that Goku didn't love his family, but Goku's priorities were a little skewed towards training and getting stronger, while everything Gohan seemingly did was for the benefit for his wife and child. Your thoughts on this matter were shattered though when you heard someone else speak, a tone that was low and sullen.  
"Yes, it's really a shame, but Dragon Balls should be able to change that, something this relatively simple should be trivial to Shenron. Then you two can actually train together."

The voice belonged to Piccolo, a Namekian you had learned, who had sort of been the Evil King Piccolo that you had heard in passing from others. Piccolo himself often came off rough and uncaring, like Vegeta, but unlike Vegeta, he was more open to showing himself as a teacher and mentor, and you found him encouraging your actions and progress during your time linked together. You had looked forward to learning from him, and had almost forgotten to what returning to your body had meant for you.  
"Yeah I suppose so Piccolo...but uh, are we going to try what you had in mind when we decided to show up together."

You were curious what Gohan was referring to. You knew Piccolo was close with Gohan, which why it would make sense for him to be here with him and who you were assuming was his wife and maybe his kid, but you had no idea what Gohan meant with that comment. You kept thinking of a list of possibilites when Piccolo spoke up again.

"Yeah, let me see if this will work. I might need some time to mentally concentrate, and I'm not sure what kind of state their mind is in, so just give me some time."

Now this was really weird. You could only assume Gohan nodded or gave a physical indication of confirmation but now the room was really quiet. You knew the Namekian had access to a lot of weird abilities as part of his biology and that he was a lot different than the other fighters in his physiology but you really had no idea what he could be possibly.....

"Hello? Can you hear me?"

You hear Piccolo....but...in your head? You answer back, at least you try, you had never tried to talk mentally before so you weren't sure how it exactly worked, but you tried and said hello back.

"Ah, so you are pretty much the same as you were back then. Except the tables are kind of turned aren't they? It's kind of unfortunate, but this is the only way that I can communicate with you. I'm going to see if I can connect Gohan and Videl, your mind seems fairly strong, so I hope you don't mind the company."

The last sentence almost sounded sarcastic, but you affirmed that it was quite alright and that you would enjoy being able to have an actual conversation with a group of people for once. Piccolo chuckles at your enthusiasm and states,

"Well, then give me a second and I will get everyone connected. I haven't tried something like this before, so it might take some adjusting on my end."

You patiently as Piccolo seemingly quiets to try and tweak the telepathic connection so as to allow multiple people. You wait for a few minutes more and then hear Gohan finally.

"Oh? So you managed to do it huh Piccolo? That's amazing! I uh, oh hello again! We haven't chatted in a while have we? At least not since that whole saving the world business just a few days ago, but for you it must have felt forever."

You laugh in your mind as Gohan appears flustered from his outbursts but are happy to be able to converse with them once again, even if the method was a little stranger than you would have thought.

"So Piccolo, did you get Videl connected as well?"

You knew from conversing with Gohan before that Videl was his wife, and that she happened to actually be the daughter of the worldwide famous Mr.Hercule Satan. You hadn't ever been able to listen to martial arts tournaments before, but you even knew that name, as he was one of the most famous people in the world, the World Martial Art Champion. Although after talking with Gohan about it, you had learned that they just let him keep the title, as he was above average for a normal human being, but couldn't match up to even Gohan or his own daughter in terms of real strength, which was kind of ironic.  
"I think the connection has stabilized, with help from our friend here. We should be able to talk like this for a while, but Namekians don't normally talk telepathically all the time, so I'm not sure how much of a strain this will give me over time."

You thank Piccolo for this ability to talk with them again and he merely nods and smirks.

"Umm hello? This is weird...umm, I'm Videl, Gohan's wife, it's very nice to meet you."

You hear a lovely voice and give your own greetings to the new person in your mind.

"We have our daughter, Pan, with us, but I don't think she will be conversing much since she is asleep right now."

You confirm that it makes sense, and start to state something else, but then find yourself pausing. You had never been able to have an open conversation before like this..well ever, and you weren't entirely sure what to even talk about. This was quite different than the one on one conversations you had with the fighters before, but the overwhelming reality that you could finally converse in this way made you lose your words. Gohan's voice was the next to speak.

"Not really used to talking with other people are you? It's ok, even when you were linked with us, you were rather quiet anyway, always listening and only answering if we addressed you. Which is fine, I can understand that you don't know exactly what to say to us, I mean, this isn't exactly a normal conversation in a normal situation, so just take your time."

You felt reassured when Gohan spoke, and decided to ask them more about themselves. Videl spoke up instead of Gohan this time.

"Well, you already know a lot about Mr.Piccolo and my husband, and I already can tell Gohan told you everything about me and my daughter, so what would you want to know? Is there anything you can tell us about yourself?"

You paused at that, not sure where to take the conversation next. You supposed that in your conversations with Gohan, you had never gotten to hear how Gohan and Videl had met, or even anything else before they got married. You inquire about that, but state that you basically had no memories, no name, no memory of your life before lying in this state, you being linked was the first you had ever gotten to experience....well, anything.  
"Oh well, that's too bad, I'm sorry to hear you have had such a rough time. But don't worry, we are going to gather the Dragon Balls and wish to Shenron for him to restore you to full health. Then you can train with my husband and Mr.Piccolo and just experience life as we know it. I would think everyone should be able to find them all by tommorrow so you won't have to wait that much longer. As for your uh...question...ummm, it's kind of embarrassing."

You could tell that Videl was blushing at the mention of your question about she and Gohan had met. Apparently it was a lot more embarrassing to her than it was to Gohan.

"Well, we met in high school actually, I was lot different back then than I am now. I was actually a big martial artist. My father was the World Martial Arts Champion after all, and I felt like a lot of people looked at me with expectations back then, not that I didn't mind training, I was really good at it actually. But then uh, I met Gohan, and everything kind of changed. I didn't think much of him at the time, just thought he was kind of a weirdo honestly, but the more I got to know him and his family, my world got turned upside down, especially when Majin Buu showed up. But most people don't remember that."

You listen to the story with interest. You knew Majin Buu was a strong fighter, and he was certainly unusual, but you had never heard of him causing destruction, although during the fights, you could see he certainly had the capability for it. He just seemed like a glutton, a creature that devoured candies and sweets with great voraciousness, but he was certainly strong from someone that ate nothing but junk food. Gohan broke your thought process, as if he understood your confusion.

"Yeah, you see, back then, I had just entered high school and I was, well, not sure how to handle myself around other people. My training with Piccolo and Dad at an early age had made me super strong, even if I wasn't keeping up on my training all that much. I tried to fit in, but Videl had me figured out since day one, hahaha! But back to Buu, back then, Majin Buu was a monster made by an evil wizard, and his son, Babidi released him to cause havok on the Earth. No one remembers it because we made Shenron make everyone forget it. You actually might have died during that incident, sorry, so that's why you might not remember it either. Buu kind of destroyed the Earth at one point, but not the one you know, that small one we battled clones of at the time. You see, Buu split kind of like Android 21, and there was a Good Buu and an Evil Buu, the Buu you know was the good one, but we made everyone forget it otherwise he would have never been able to live in peace with Mr.Satan. Oh! actually, speaking of Buu, we asked him to come here to see you, but we couldn't exactly explain your situation, so uh, we will just have you see Buu when this is all over. He said he would share some of his cookies with you though, which Buu doensn't usually do."

You take a minute to process all this new information. Majin Buu was actually evil at some point? And he had killed you and the entire earth? Or at least, an evil version of him did. It kind of made sense, especially from what you had seen with Android 21. Android 21 had told you that she had possibly been made with some of Majin Buu's cells as well, which would make even more sense considering what you had just learned. You just confirmed with Gohan that you sort of understood.

"Heh, Gohan, why don't you slow down, I think you are overloading their brain."

Piccolo chuckled, he had been quiet this whole time, and was probably just trying to keep the connection going between all three of us.

"Well, anyway, it's sort of like that, there was a lot of stuff that has happened on Earth in the last few years, and everytime, Goku and the rest of us band together to save the planet. Although we usually have to end up relying on Goku, which is kind of humbling since we call ourselves martial artists."

Piccolo seemed humiliated that he had to rely on anyone, and you could understand his frustration. Everyone that you had linked with seemed frustrated at some point that you had to control their actions, that their bodies weren't following their commands, a frustration you could understand a little too well. You ask about Piccolo and Gohan, to hear the stories that you hadn't, more about their lives.

"Well, that's going to be tough to explain, because well...."

You and the others sit there for quite a while, talking about past events, rivalries, and their lives before everything. You hear stories about the Evil King Piccolo, Kami, and Nail, and hear Gohan's stories about the Saiyans, and the Androids. Before long, you had heard quite a lot, but Gohan and Videl realized it was late, and that they needed to get home to tuck Pan in to bed. They tell you they were happy to meet you and hope to do more things like this in the future, and Videl even offers you a place at their house for when you are healthy once again, a gesture you really appreciate. Even Piccolo gives you a fond farewell, reminding you of how your training won't be easy, but his confidence in your ability to handle it. The door closes behind them and you sit there in silence. Just one more day, one more, until you could finally experience life again. You listen to the crickets chirp outside your hospital window, and your mind becomes foggy and sluggish. Apparently all that conversing and thought tired you out, and you find yourself slipping into sleep. Everything goes quiet as you drift off to sleep. Tommorrow...tommorrow.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The interactions with Piccolo and Gohan really resonated with me, Piccolo especially. Piccolo has no idea who you are, yet he starts to easily slip into the mentor role to you immediately upon your Link interactions with him in the game. He was the character I would think would immediately want to train you once he met you in real life, and Gohan was just as kind. He talks with you about a lot of things, most of them him being his dorky self, but that's also what makes him the most "human" to me. I know that a lot of people feel like Gohan gets the shaft a lot, which I agree with, but I wish that Toriyama would let Gohan climb back up into the ranks of his father and Vegeta, because to his very soul, he fights for his family, something we see from Goku in rare moments from time to time, but it doesn't exactly define him as much as it does Gohan. Which is why I think it's so important for him to be that strong, not for the sake of strength like the other Saiyans but for the sake of others. Mini-rant aside, these themes really play to what I like in both characters, so I feel like I wrote this chapter with a lot of heart in it.


	6. Goku

You awake with a start although your body couldn't move even if you were to jump. You hear birds chirping outside and the hospital staff busy at work out in the hallway. The machines are beeping once again like they always are, your heart is beating, your lungs are being filled and unfilled with air, and your vitals are being monitored closely. You could guess it was between the morning and afternoon the next day. You had nodded off after Gohan and his family had left from your hospital room and you now found yourself just having woken up the next morning. You couldn't remember what you were dreaming about, but you could have sworn it was the same dream you had been having since you returned to your body after leaving from Android 18's body. The smell of flowers, a large tree, and a figure drifted into your mind, but the image left only a small impact before it faded and was lost in your mind.

  
You sit there for a while, taking in the familiar sounds and smells of the hospital that you had spent so much time in over the many number of years of your stay. It felt unreal that after all this time you were finally going to get the chance to....well, the chance to do anything. The chance to see the hospital room for the first time, the chance to walk, the chance to eat real food, or even something as simple as seeing your own reflection in the mirror. It all felt surreal, like you were within another dream and this was being shown to you as part of some far off fantasy, but you knew it wasn't. You knew that this was all real, that the people you had met and the friends you had made were real, that your journey, the linking with other fighters, the saving the world, all of it, was in fact real, and you were going to be able to live your life for the first time in your memory. Elation was felt within your soul, your heart surged with renewed hope and joy, and you could swear that your whole body felt warm. This was in fact real, and you couldn't wait.

Suddenly, you hear a strange noise coming from in front of your bed. It wasn't quite a whirring of machinery or a dashing or running of a nurse, but it was distinctly there, an almost whooshing sound coming from the foot of your bed. You heard a set of feet land on the ground, but what was curious was that you hadn't even heard anyone enter the room previously. You could have sworn that you were all alone and that you hadn't had received any further company since last night, but your thoughts had shattered when a very familiar voice burst out.

"Hey! It's me, Goku!"  
In your mind you chuckle, because Goku had no sense of decorum. He wouldn't worry about signing into the front desk or something silly like "visiting hours." He simply popped right into the room unannounced and without a care in the world if he was allowed to or not. But somehow, that just made the saiyan all that more endearing.

"Hey, I dropped by to see how you were doing, but uh I know there isn't any real way to talk to you right now huh? I guess I didn't think it completely through huh? hehehe"  
You hear Goku rub the back of his head with honest embarrassment, as though he hadn't really heard from anyone else what your condition was like, or maybe he just didn't pay attention when people had told him as such.  
"But I really want to fight you, and we are just waiting for Bulma and the others to gather the rest of the Dragon Balls at this point. But I don't want to wait..."

Goku was a being whose mind only focused on one thing, battle. He was extremely intelligent and perceptive when it came to fighting and martial arts, but he wasn't really intelligent in any other regard. This led to him being a bumbling fool when it came to almost anything else, and he would constantly put his priorities on training and fighting rather than anything else. But still, at the end of the day, he had a good heart and cared for his friends and family and it made it hard to dislike him for long.  
"Oh! That's it! I have a great idea!"

You hear Goku's fist hit the palm of his hand forcefully as he stated seemed to have come up with the solution to his problem. Although how you two were going to fight wasn't exactly clear without explanation. Your body wouldn't even move on your command, so it was hard how a fighter as experienced and high level such as Goku would even find a challenge or enjoyment with a match against someone like you. But you waited and listened for the saiyan to hopefully explain his thought process, although you weren't expecting a really complicated explanation from the simple man.  
"Krillin and I have done it all the time, and even recently. It's a technique that fighters use that can increase their power and fight each other without ever having to move a muscle. It's called Image Training! All we have to do is link our minds, which I shouldn't be too difficult since you have been in my head before, and then we can fight mentally! It will be great!"

You were kind of taken aback at how simple Goku explained his plan and how he reduced mental linking to be a small issue. From what you remember, Piccolo linking your mind with Gohan's and Videl's as well as his own was a daunting task, so how you were going to link with Goku and mentally fight him like you were fighting physically was beyond you.

"Alright! Now that we have that all sorted out, just clear your mind and concentrate, you'll see, it will be a cinch!"

You kind of doubted that it would be as easy as Goku was making it out to be, but you decided to go along with it anyway. Goku was someone that knew fighting better than anything else, and you knew he wouldn't try to decieve you so you cleared your mind and concentrated your thoughts. You could hear Goku slowing his breathing, as you assumed he was closing his eyes and concentrating in the same manner. Your thoughts stayed cleared and before you, you could feel a projection of yourself coming into focus. Your body was responding and was actually movable, you practiced some kicks and punches in the manner of which you had used the other fighters bodies and they responded in almost the same manner. It wasn't a physical body, but it really felt like you were moving.

"Hey! You got the hang of it really fast!"

You look over, slightly startled, and see Goku standing there with a huge grin on his face. You hadn't heard him, but you assumed this was the mental link he was speaking of. Rather than just hearing a voice in your mind, like how it had been when Piccolo had linked his mind with yours, you now had a mental projection of Goku along with your own, your minds being linked. You could feel your mind getting excited.

"Heh, I see you're getting excited. Honestly, I'm getting excited too, I have been waiting to fight you for a while!"

Goku started stretching his shoulders and squatting, stretching out his legs in preparation. He stood up and took his normal fighting stance.

"Don't feel nervous, we are just going to have a quick sparring match. I want to see what you can do!"

You pause for a second before getting into a fighting stance as well. It was a little overwhelming, trying to manage all the fighting knowledge you had gotten over the course of this adventure into something solid, especially considering you had never gotten any chance to apply it before. You finally took a stance and stared down at Son Goku. He gave you a cheeky grin, but his face quickly went into one of serious battle, like he was staring down a worthy opponent. You locked up your stance and waited, studying Goku, he seemed to be studying you as well, as neither of you moved for quite a while.  
Finally, you rushed forwards and threw a punch, Goku blocking it with his forearm almost just as fast. The ground beneath both of you crack a bit and there is a small shaking of the ground as the impact settles. Goku smiles a little wider and reels his other fist back and punches at you from the opposite side, but you manage to bring your other arm up to block it. You both start throwing a series of punches, dodging and attempting to strike each other with a flurry of blows, but you reel your foot back and strike at Goku's chest sending him flying back a bit. He rotates his shoulder and chuckles.

"Wow, I knew you were learning a lot from us, but you seemed to learn a lot more than I thought you would. I'm impressed. This is getting me really excited."

You were almost trembling with excitement as well. This was almost the same as a real battle, and you were excited to keep going. You concentrated and shot out some ki blasts which Goku reflected away from him, but you had dashed forward and had brought your right fist across, which Goku moved to block, but you feinted and uppercutted him with your left. The impact sent his feet pushing back and reset his stance. He dashed at you now, throwing punches and mixing it up with kicks and it was the best you could but to try and keep up with him, dodging kicks and punches as best as you could until he swung around and back kicked you away from him. The two of you stared each other down for another long second before both of you dashed simultaneously, disappearing and reappearing, throwing in blow after blow at each other until the both of you jumped away once again. Goku had an eager grin on his face and he stood up emptying his stance.

"I think I'm just about warmed up, want to start getting serious?"

His usual laid-back attitude was mixed with a serious tone of a warrior who was thirsty for more, and you nod, your face creeping into an almost similar hungry smile. Goku smiled right back and adjusted his body before his aura came forth, with a defiant cry his white aura turned to a golden tinge and his hair shot upwards in a familiar crack of thunder. His eyes had turned a familiar green-ish blue and his aura sparked with a golden flame-like aura. This was the form of a Super Saiyan. Goku smiled and looked at you once again. His voice came across as even more serious and rough than before.

"So, you ready to continue?"

You nod and gather your aura around you, it creating a cloud of white energy encompassing your body. You waited and both of you shifted into fighting stances once again. Goku dashed forwards even faster than last time and you found your body struggling to keep up. He started throwing punches once again but this time these punches were faster and more powerful than they had been before when you were both fighting. Your body struggled to keep up, but you keep trying, finding yourself able to learn and adapt to Goku's fight pattern and even eventually throwing a punch or kick of your own when you could successfully read Goku's openings. Goku kept pressing the attack, throwing punches and kicks but you saw an opening and threw a hard punch across and into his shoulder. You then follow it up with a kick to his chest, but Goku punches you in response and you both are sent flying back. Goku wipes his mouth with his fist and straightens up.

"You're better than I thought. You seem to be naturally adjusting to my moves, even though this is probably the first time you have fought a battle in your own consciousness. Heh, keep it up, I'm really enjoying myself."

You ready yourself once again and Goku lifts to fingers to his forehead. You instantly recognize it as Instant Transmission and prepare yourself for him to teleport, the second he disappears but you follow his aura with your mind, your senses being tuned to a fine edge when you had been reduced to relying on nothing but your hearing and extra senses, and after you had learned to sense energy, you had even applied that to your normal senses as well. As a result, you were able to pick up on even his instant transmission and threw a punch right behind you, catching Goku off guard and making him have to use both arms to block the blow.

"Heh, you're able to keep up with my Instant Transmission, that's not a simple feat. You grow more impressive every second I fight you, a natural fighter in every way. But let's see if you can keep up with this!"

Goku raises his fingers once again and starts teleporting multiple times in a continuous pattern all around you. You struggle to keep up, but his blows are lightning fast, striking and disappearing before you can react. You hold up your arms while you try to get a read on his movements but they suddenly stop. You stare up and see the Saiyan holding his arm in a familiar stance.

"HAAAAAAAAAAA!"

The beam shoots out in your direction and you narrowly manage to dodge it in time. But you feel your body adapting to Goku's speed and power once again. You twist on your heel and attack the saiyan on his right side, not giving him time to recover from his attempted attack. He falls back, but you don't relent, landing a flurry of blows and determined to land as many attacks as you could while he was vulnerable. During this time, you found your attacks to be getting, sharper, faster, and quicker in strength and accuracy. You knocked the Super Saiyan back with a whirlwind kick and shoot out an energy blast, catching the saiyan in the blast. You pant a bit as you try and catch your breath. You wait for the dust to clear and find Goku wiping at his mouth, a trickle of blood coming from his mouth.

"Ouch, that last attack really smarted. It seems like you are ready to go all out now huh? Of course, I could tell right away, you were holding back, just like I have been. So why don't you say we both go all in? Give it our best, and see how it goes?"

The Super Saiyan plasters a cocky grin on his face and you can feel a smile of your own starting to tug at your lips. You nod to him and take your stance. He nods at your determination and grit and takes an equal stance as well. You feel your energy start to gather and the aura around you widens around you, the ground starts to crack, and small pieces of debris start to float in the air. You see the Saiyan start to yell as well, but another familiar aura envelopes him, one of a light blue aura that seems to make his ki vanish completely. The blue flame crackles and waves across his body and small particles of light energy travel upward like in a roaring inferno. This was Super Saiyan Blue, the form that you knew Goku took when he was serious. You didn't have any transformations like the saiyan, but you could feel all your power pool into your body as a crater was formed under you, the ground being pressed down by the pressure. You both stood there once again for a while, and your body was almost vibrating with anticipation.

Then suddenly, time seemed to stop as you both charged forward. You clashed in a way that could be described as faster than any human eye could comprehend, shockwaves being sent out whenever you traded blows. Each attack was calculated, but faster than sound, each strike hitting harder, faster, deeper. Each time you landed a blow on Goku, he would land a blow on you, until finally you had risen to high in the air. You dashed forwards, feinting behind him and striking him in the back, sending him straight down. You then dashed forwards past the falling fighter and struck several times in a combination of blows that sent him flying back, but he quickly righted himself and charged you, catching you off guard and sending you flying. He reappears behind you and lands a shoulder into your back, sending you flying forward, spinning in the air. You manage to catch and right yourself. You both are panting heavily, and even though this was a mental battle, you could feel the strain you were going through. You were using all your training, all your experience, all those battles you had fought with the others, it was all coming together, for this, this battle. Goku looked up at you, a determination burning in his eyes.

"Let's finish this."

He put his hands together in a familiar stance, crouching down his right hand meeting his left behind him as he squatted. You knew this stance, and you quickly copied it. You had done this hundreds, maybe thousands of times as the others and now, you would finish this fight doing it as well. You both started to chant the familiar words.

"Ka..." "Ka...."

 

 

  
"Me..." "Me..."

 

 

  
"Ha..." "Ha..."

 

 

  
"Me..." "Me..."

 

 

 

"HAAAAAA!!!!"

Blue beams of pure energy shot out from both of your hands and impacted, struggling against each other as you both tried to prevail over the other. The waves stayed even, both pushing against one another, but neither finding any solid ground. You emptied all your reserves, all the energy you had left into this final attack and felt your beam start to push just a little bit harder, but immediately heard Goku shout out.

"KAIOOKENNN!!!"

The warrior was bathed in a piercing red light surrounding his blue aura, and his beam started to push back hard. Your body strained against the impact and you struggled to stay on your feet. You felt your energy slipping, and your body starting to crumble underneath the massive amount of energy coming from Goku. With one last shout of defiance, you cried out, emptying all you had left.

"HAAAAAA!!!"

A thunderous crash rang out and a huge explosion followed, as both waves of energy collapsed and exploded in on one another in a giant blue ball of pure light. You held your arms up in front of you to shield your eyes but fell to your knees from pure exhaustion. What was left was a huge cloud of dust. As the dust cleared you could see Son Goku panting a little lighter than you but walking towards you through the dust. His blue aura was still present and he was still standing. You sat in awe at how much power, how much energy the fighter seemed to have. He stood above you, his face stern and determined. You thought he was going to finish you, finish the fight, but he quickly powered down and outstretched his hand to yours.

"Maaaan, that was a good fight! I think I got a little carried away there for a bit, but I couldn't help it. You're already so strong, and even though this was image training I'm sure you could become just as strong if you train in the real world."

You took his hand and stood up, still breathing heavily. You give him an honest, tired smile. Goku grins back, returning to the same happy-go-lucky guy that he was before.

"I can't wait for us to fight for real!"

The field in front of you starts to turn to a white light, and suddenly, you were back in your bed, your body feeling like a dead weight like before. You hear movement as Goku stands up once again.

"Man, that was awesome! I can't wait until we get to spar for real! You are going to be a great fighter, I can already tell! I'm sure Bulma and the others are almost done gathering the dragon balls by now, but I'm going to go lend a hand, that way we can fight for real that much sooner."

You couldn't help but mentally laugh. Despite everything, Goku always did have one thing in mind. Finding his next opponent, but you felt honored that he considered you a worthy opponent, although you were pretty sure you hadn't even had come close to making Goku use up all his energy. You would consider it amazing that you kept up with him at all.

"Well, I'm going to go help them. See ya!"

He raised his fingers to his forehead and teleported away. The hospital room was once again quiet, and you could feel a tiredness that enveloped your body all the time envelop your mind. The fight, mental or not, had taken a lot out of you, and you could hardly think straight. You felt the tug of sleep await you, but you could only think of the possibility that next time you woke up, you would be able to start your life as a fighter...

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry this chapter took so long, but I appreciate all your kudos and warm comments as I prepared the next chapter. I found that writing Goku was possibly one of the hardest characters to write for simply because of his change in demeanor between when he is serious and when he is just his lovable doofus self. His speech patterns, word usage, and personality completely change when he is battling and when he isn't so it was me trying to find the right balance of doof Goku and serious battle Goku. I spent a long time figure out how to even do a Goku chapter, since Goku really only loves to fight, so I couldn't see him staying still long enough to just talk with the reader in a hospital bed. But then I remembered image training, the technique that the fighters use when they can't properly spar, and I thought it would be perfect to have Goku had an image battle with the reader. 
> 
> Overall, I think the chapter turned out great, and I can't wait to hear what you guys have to say. As you may have noticed, there is only one character left that you link to in the story now, which will be the concluding chapter. Sorry to say, but there is a reason for that sad tag. See you guys in that next chapter!


	7. Android 21: A promise

Your vision was swimming in white, your mind floating silently. You couldn't remember where you were, who exactly you were, or even what you were doing. You smelled the scent of flowers and felt a large sturdy object against your neck and head.

"Hey! Wake up!"

You hear a voice that almost seems familiar to your ears and struggle to open your eyes, your head is heavy and it feels like your thoughts are caught in a cloud. But your eyes slowly open, a light blinding most of your vision as your eyes struggle to adjust. You place your arm in front of your face to try and help with the light, and eventually, you can see. A field of flowers stretches out in front of you and a soft breeze blows, sending petals softly flying on the wind. The sky is a stunning blue and the clouds drift softly and slowly along in the sky. The colors are vibrant and beautiful as a variety of colors meet your vision. As your eyes finally come into focus you see a figure standing in front of you. She had curly red hair and wore glasses, along with a short dress that came down past her knees that had a checkered pattern that was colored red and teal in color. She held a small doll in her hands that was green and black and had a red mohawk that crested the top of its head. She looked at you with a small smile on her face staring at you from her standing position.

"You're awake! I found you sleeping here. Are you ok? I haven't seen you around before."

You blinked for a few seconds, trying to wrap your mind around everything. You couldn't remember exactly how you had gotten here at all. Something about the girl was eerily familiar but your mind couldn't exactly recall anything other than an overwhelming sense of familiarity. You looked down at yourself, you were roughly the same age as the girl in front of you, but it didn't strike you as odd for some reason. You decided to answer her question and confirm that you were fine, and just say you didn't remember falling asleep. She giggled.

"Well obviously you fell asleep, I found you here sleeping at the base of this tree. But, I don't think we have met. I'm Ashley, and I'm 12. What's your name?"

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
Goku appeared instantly in front of the gathered group. He had just used instant transmission, but in front of him was a crowd of familiar faces.

"Hey! Looks we gathered all of them now right?"

The group looked up in Goku's direction, Bulma was at the center standing over the seven dragon balls gathered in front of her. Standing next to her was Krillin, who looked up at Goku with a big grin on his face. Android 18 was off to the side of Krillin, holding Marron, who reached her arms up in Goku's direction and laughed happily. Trunks stood next to his mom, who started to jump up and down before he looked in his father's direction and quieted down. Vegeta stood near the very back of the group, leaning against a tree with a look of disinterest on his face, although he did look in his longtime rival's direction for a brief second as if to acknowledge his presence. Tien, Chiaotzu, and Yamcha stood near the outer edge of the pack, but they looked up to Goku as well, their longtime friend. Gohan stood with his wife and daughter, and Piccolo stood at the back of them, standing silently. Bulma nodded and was the first to speak.

"Yup, we have all seven now, so we can summon Shenron and get our wish fulfilled."

Goku floated down to the group and stood in front of the familiar orbs. Over the years they had collected the dragon balls several times, usually to revive the people of Earth but for other worthy purposes as well, and now, they would use them once again. The last time they had used the dragon balls had been after Frieza's attempted revenge in order to revive and restore North City, which had been destroyed by Frieza seconds after he had landed on the planet. Goku lifted his hands up in the air, it was time to restore their friend.

"Almighty Shenron! By your name, I summon your forth!"  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
You state your name to the girl and a smile spreads across her face that absolutely beams.

"That's a nice name. Do you want to be my friend? I was playing robots, you can play too if you want. I was just playing with my doll here Six! He is my best friend, and I take care of him like he is my son!"

She beams at you about the doll in her hands, but your head starts to hurt.

"...when I was a mother and I had a son."  
A voice echoes in your head, but eventually, the pain subsides and you look back up at the girl.

"So, you wanna play?"

You smile a little and nod to answer her question. She smiles and bounces on her heels, happy at your response.

"Great! Let me show you how to play!"

She sits down and shows you how to play. You listen carefully to her instructions and ask questions, to which she happily replies the answers. You then begin to play the game. The rules were simple and she seemed to really enjoy it, and after a while, you had finished the game and you both were sitting against the tree again. Ashley was holding her doll to her chest and looking up at the clouds.

"The clouds are pretty aren't they? They remind me of cotton candy. It makes me hungry, hee hee hee."

Your head starts to hurt slightly again, and you get another image in your mind.

"....so hungry..."

The same woman as before flashes into your mind, she seemed to be clutching her stomach, her face contorted from a starving hunger. As quickly as it appeared, it disappeared and you were back underneath the tree.

"What's wrong?"

You snap out of your thoughts and look over at Ashley, who is looking at you with questioning concern on her face. You shake your head and tell her it's nothing. She crosses her arms and puffs her cheeks.

"Liar! I know when something is up! I'm pretty smart you know."

You chuckle and tell her you had been having these dreams lately, ones that seem silly now that you thought about it. She leans over, looking excited.

"Oh! Oh! I want hear about them! It sounds interesting!"

You smile and decide to tell her. You tell her about Son Goku and his friends, about Frieza and his minions, and about Androids 18 and 17, Android 16 who looked like her toy, and finally the woman who looked like her, Android 21. You told her about how you remembered in this dream, the older you and Android 21 had formed a special connection, a special bond, a link. But unlike everyone else in the dream, the link between you and her, it was different, special. There was something you remembered about a promise you two had made to each other, but it was blurry in your mind now. As you finished your story, you looked back up to her as you finished your tale. Her eyes were wide and her mouth gaping wide in wonder. She spoke with quickness in her voice.

"You know what that means? It means we were destined to be BFFs!"

She lifts her hands up into the air in a dramatic fashion that makes you start to giggle. She starts giggling right along with you.

"We were destined to be friends! So that means, we need to make a promise."

You look at her with a questioning glance, wondering what she could mean by that statement. She seems to see your glance and holds a finger up in front of herself.

"We will promise to always save each other, no matter what. That way, we will have an unbreakable link, like in your dream. It's guaranteed to work!"

She giggles again and holds up her pinkie finger to you.

"Promises have to be kept, but pinky promises are like super promises, so if we pinky promise a huge promise like this, it will never break!"

She smiles a big toothy grin at you and you nod in response. You hold up your pinkie to hers and they intertwine, signaling the promise you two made to each other. Your head starts to hurt again, and you are assaulted with a new series of images.

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The woman from before is standing in front of you in an empty space. She looks at you with great affection and warmth and places her hands on her chest as she starts to speak softly.

"I have been doing some thinking regarding the battle to come. It has been a real pleasure to link with you, I don't think I have ever been close to another person before."

Her face starts to blush a little at that statement, but she continues her speech.

"I wish to ask you something since we have been linked for quite a while now and the final battle is becoming closer at hand."

She looks at you with a small smiled on her face that starts to wrinkle a bit. She tapped her fingers together as if she was nervous and finally speaks again.

"Since we are such close friends, I wish to ask if we might make a promise to each other. I have researched that it's the thing that two friends do when they are close.

**"Of course I would."**

She has a look of surprise on her face for a second, but then it reforms into a beaming smile.

"Oh, thank you! I had hoped that you would find it agreeable. The promise I would ask of you is.....well...."

She paused for a few seconds before finally speaking up again.

"I want us to promise that we would always be together no matter what!"

She looks away briefly before continuing.

"I know you were forced into this against your will, and you didn't have any reason to fight so hard for complete strangers, but...I can't think of where I would be without you now. You helped me so much, talked me through my hunger, made me feel hope again, and I feel like I wouldn't be who I am...without you."

She smiles extremely warmly and sincerely in your direction, and you can almost feel her affection.

"So I want to promise you, that no matter what, that if you needed my help, I would find you again and repay you. And if I would ever need it, even though I have no right to ask, that you would save me if I ever needed it. And even if you couldn't....that we would be together someday."

Her words became slower and better phrased and she seemed to be putting a real effort into every part of her speech.

"So, I want us to forge an eternal bond, one that will last forever, even beyond the link system....would you agree to that?"

She looks at you with hope and hesitancy, as if she was hanging on to hearing your words.

**"Why would I ever not?"**

She looks surprised for half a second, but then her face seems to melt in a warm acceptance.

"I shouldn't be surprised should I? You have gone out of your way for me for so long, why should I be surprised that you would continue to do so? But...if it's more than that, I feel as though I feel the same way about you."

She held her hand up and extended her pinky finger.

"I have heard that promising with your smallest finger is an almost eternal bond, but since you can't really shake on it with me, we will have to do it in spirit. But...I promise, that no matter what, our bond will hold eternally."

She smiles at you and the memory starts to fade to white, but before you lose it completely, a name rings into your head.

Android 21......

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What's wrong? Why are you crying?"

You look up as you are once again startled out of your trance. The girl that looked eerily familiar was looking at you with concern. Your pinkies were still entwined as you had just made a pinky promise with her. You wipe the tears away and smile at her.

"I'm just happy to be your friend."

She giggles and sits against the tree, looking up at the sky.

"I feel the same way. It's almost like we were fated to be friends."

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Eternal Dragon Shenron! By your name, I summon you forth!"

The dragon balls began to glow as the sky darkened. A huge beam of light shot out of the collected orbs and took form over the gathered group of friends. The dragon that all of them knew, the one they had always summoned to grant their wishes.

"I am the dragon Shenron. I shall grant you any wish, now speak!"

The enormous dragon spoke by barely opening its mouth but an enormous voice boomed out from the dragon's maw. Goku gave the thumbs up to Bulma and she walked up to the giant dragon as if was an old friend.

"Shenron, we need your help, our friend, who helped save the Earth is in the hospital due to an existing illness. Our wish is that you restore their body to full health!"

The dragon's eyes glowed for a second as everyone waited. Everyone seemed to hold their breath silently for confirmation of their friend's restoration to their full health.

"I cannot grant that wish."

The group of friends looked up in surprise, and Bulma looked genuinely shocked.

"What?! Why not?!"

\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
You had sat underneath the tree for a while and Ashley had started to sleep. She had started snoring softly and had fallen against your shoulder. You didn't mind and continued to look up at the clouds silently, thinking over the images that had kept flashing in your mind. Your memory was spotty at best as how to you came to this place, but for some reason, it didn't matter anymore. A promise...a promise that you had forged, the same promise....

Your eyes began to droop and you felt your mind start to blur. And even though you didn't have the answers to your questions, for some reason, there was a sense of contentment in your mind, as if the very thing you were looking for was right beside you. You watched the girl snore peacefully against your shoulder. Maybe it didn't matter anymore....maybe you were you needed to be...where you wanted to be. You leaned up against the tree...and felt....peaceful.

Your vision fades to white as you fall asleep.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A loud long beep plays on the monitors in the hospital room. A doctor scrambled in with equipment as nurses receive instruction. The doctor barks out orders and keeps trying to apply aid, but eventually, he gives up.

"Time of death...."

He looks down at the patient. Such a shame, a patient so young, stricken with such a malady and taken so young. As he looks over the body, he couldn't help but notice that there was a smile on their lips, as if they had slipped away from the world content.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The ending chapter. I hope the payoff at the end was worth the wait. I played with a bunch of ideas when ending this story, but this ending just felt right. Everything has lead up to this point and I feel like this was the only ending I could properly achieve with a story like this. I felt as though the players bond with Android 21 was significant in the Story mode, and that they would effected even more by her death that Android 18, which reacted vocally which was unusual for her. Goku even reassures you, so I felt it was important to stress that they had a special bond. It doesn't have to be taken as a romantic interest, but it very well could be, it's up to interpretation. 
> 
> That being said, my brain has come up with a story extension I would be crazy to ignore, so I will say that for those that enjoy this story as from the player's perspective, the character represented here will be their own character in the next story. If you prefer to see it end here, there is no reason this can't be an alternate timeline, for all intents and purposes. Either way, I love both, and I hope you might as well.


	8. Epilogue

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T GRANT THE WISH?!"

Bulma stood in the front of the friend group, trembling with rage from the dragon's words. She was always the quickest to anger, and everyone feared Bulma when she was mad. However, the dragon seemed unaffected by her rage and simply spoke back in its normally booming voice.

"Your wish cannot be fulfilled as the person's body who you wished to heal has died from their illness and I cannot restore it."

Bulma looked down in shock, and looked back at the others who looked equally bothered by the development but didn't say anything. There was a silent hush that had fallen among the group, no one knew really what to say or even how to react. Bulma was once again the next person to speak, but her tone had taken one of empty acceptance with the grim circumstances.

"If they died from their illness, we can't even wish them back to life, as Shenron can't restore someone who has died from age or illness. There really isn't anything we can do for them."

She crossed her arms in silent frustration and there was a long second before Krillin broke the silence.

"So that's it then? We failed them! We made all those promises to them, about how their life would be better, about how we would be their friends, and it was all for nothing?!"

Krillin clenched his fist in frustration, a mixture of outrage and despair had taken over his voice. Android 18 was holding Marron, who looked concerned for her father, but she stepped forward as well and began to speak with a cool and calm composure, as she often did.

"When I was linked with that soul, when we are all linked with that soul, we all became very close to them. But even then, I can't say that we were as close to them as they were to Android 21. Android 21 told me that she had meant to use the link system to help her with her hunger before she had been split into two. During our time with Android 16 and her, they linked with her several times in order to help her try and control her hunger before she split into two. But even then, after the fact, they remained extremely close. Their bond was different than with the rest of us, I know that for certain."

The group listened to her talk, wondering where she was going with this train of thought. 18 continued, her tone wavering slightly as she continued her story.

"We all knew 21 only a short while, and perhaps I got to know her the best out of all of us, but no one knew her better than them. When she chose to give her life to destroy her evil half, she gave the soul to me in order to protect them. When that happened, I didn't say anything, but they...they cried out in agony, in despair, because they knew what was going to happen. I cried out after her because I was feeling what they were feeling as well. Even Goku could tell that they were feeling sad, but he couldn't have known the depth that their sadness ran. And when we all visited them, maybe that softened the blow a bit, kept their mind off of everything, but I don't know if they would have been truly happy without her."

A silent hush fell once again over the gathered group. Possibly no one had known how deeply the death of Android 21 had affected their friend, it had affected them all sure, that someone so kind and full of life had sacrificed themself to protect the planet, but knowing the circumstances now, they couldn't have imagined that their friend had been so attached to the android. With all their recent interactions with their friend, none of them had detected a hint of sadness that they must have been feeling. Piccolo simply grunted, grinding his teeth before finally speaking.

"I didn't sense a bit of sadness when Gohan and I talked with them in the hospital. I can't believe they covered that up...or was it something else?"

Gohan looked over to his mentor and brought his hand to his chin, thinking deeply for a bit.

"Maybe, the change back to their body suppressed some memories, or perhaps, they just didn't want us to feel sad. Either way, I wish we could have saved them. They helped all of us out without a second thought and learned and fought with us despite knowing what awaited them when it all was over. They were truly selfless until the end, and it doesn't seem like they got dealt the best hand in life, to begin with...it's just too bad."

"Well, I guess that means I will have to talk to King Yemma for the both of them huh?"

Goku's signature optimistic voice burst out, startling everyone from their sad stupors.

"Dad, are you even sure that King Yemma will allow such a thing?"

Goku nodded and gave a thumbs up.

"Pretty sure, after all, they helped save the Earth, it wouldn't be right to not give them a second chance if we are giving Android 21 one as well, especially if they are that close to each other right?"  
Everyone around Goku started to smile slowly, just like before, Goku had taken the sad and disappointing atmosphere and raised it to one of a optimism and hope, with just a few sentences. Suddenly, the silence was broken by a very loud and impatient voice.

"I have waited long enough! Speak your wish, or I will leave this place without it!"

Everyone turned back, startled by the sudden interruption from Shenron. Even with the huge eternal dragon floating in midair, everyone had gotten so distracted that they had forgotten he was there. Goku turned back to the eternal dragon with a smile on his face.

"That's ok Shenron, we figured it out, we don't need any wishes right now, but thanks anyway."

"Very well..."

The dragon disappearing in a flash of light and the seven dragon balls flew up into the air before dispersing in opposite directions around the globe. Though their friend was lost to them, the group could feel another wind of hope along the horizon, and they were certain they would see both of their recent friends again someday.   
\-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
A single drone flies through the air, carrying a small clear container. Inside was a small ray of golden light. It flew along in silence at a good speed, approaching its destination quickly.

A single soul stirs in the empty space before it. It wonders where it is, what's going on, what happened. Though it tries, it cannot escape its container, and it struggles in vain to be released from its new confinement.

As the drone approaches a small mountain the side of the mountain opens up and the drone flies inside. It places the container before it on a pedestal and various beeps and whirrs are heard before a voice plays from the computers.

 **LINK SYSTEM SUCCESSFULLY INITIATED**....

 **TARGETED SUBJECT ACQUIRED**....

**SEVERAL ENERGIES DETECTED....**

**PREPARING NEW PROJECT FILES**....

  
**NEW PROJECT DESIGNATION:**

  
**ANDROID 22**

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's the epilogue of this story! I wanted to give a little insight into the other Dragon Ball characters as well as give insight into how I arrived at the conclusion that Android 21 and the Link character's bond would be the strongest. From what you see during the story, your interaction with Android 21 is the most meaningful to her, and every other character has their own bonds and family to look after, and even though your bonds with them are strong, to take two characters that have been in isolation for so long and to form a bond that seems so strong, I think that it makes sense that they would be the closest don't you?
> 
> You also can see what plans I have for the coming new story, and don't worry this will be part of a series. I have two arcs planned out already but that doesn't necessarily mean I will only do two more stories. I hope all of you that enjoyed this story will enjoy the future ones as I look forward to writing them. Your feedback has been amazingly positive so far and I really appreciate it as it gives me the motivation to keep writing!


End file.
